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HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Thursday marks the day the state officially takes over the Houston Independent School District.
As part of the takeover, the district will get a brand new superintendent and board of managers. But the big question is — who will that be?
It’s a question we’ve been trying to answer since the Texas Education Agency commissioner announced the takeover almost three months ago.
HISD has nearly 190,000 students. It’s not only the largest district in the state, but it’s the largest district the TEA has ever taken over.
Superintendent Millard House II’s last day with the district was last week. He was in the position for just under two years and posted a thank you to the community on social media.
“We accomplished many of the goals we set together in the last two years,” House wrote. “And while I know our time was cut short, I have no doubt that there will be more successes to come.”
TEA officials previously said the commissioner will announce the new board of managers and the new HISD superintendent on or after June 1 — so, the announcement could come at any time.
We know the state received more than 400 applications for the board, but TEA officials have refused to provide any more information on who the nine people will be.
According to the TEA, those board members and superintendent will make all decisions on daily operations at the district.
In two years, the TEA commissioner will reevaluate HISD in order to decide if the takeover can end.
At that point, power will be given back to the local elected school board, select members at a time, over a three-year period. Or, the state’s takeover will be extended for up to another two years if the commissioner decides HISD still isn’t up to par.
We’ve seen a number of HISD leaders resign in recent weeks.
Our partners at the Houston Chronicle reported that the district’s Chief of Schools, Denise Watts, is relocating to a job in Georgia. Her last day is June 14.